| "Speed of Sound" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Coldplay | ||||
| from the album X&Y | ||||
| B-side | "Things I Don't Understand" "Proof" |
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| Released | 23 May 2005 | |||
| Format | 7", CD, 10", 12" | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, post-Britpop | |||
| Length | 4:49 (album version) 4:23 (radio edit) |
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| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Writer(s) | Berryman, Buckland, Champion, Martin | |||
| Producer | Coldplay, Ken Nelson, Danton Supple | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Coldplay singles chronology | ||||
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"Speed of Sound" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their third album, X&Y. Built around a piano riff, the song builds into a huge, synthesizer-heavy chorus. It was released on 23 May 2005 by Parlophone Records as the lead single from the album.
Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin admitted that the song was developed after the band had listened to English art rock singer Kate Bush. The song's drumbeat is similar to Bush's 1985 song "Running Up that Hill". Upon the song's release, it charted in the UK Singles Chart in the number two position. In the United States, it reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Speed of Sound" was recognized Song of the Year by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and it was nominated twice at the 48th Grammy Awards. The song won a Brit Award in the category for Best British Single in 2006. The track's music video was nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards. "Speed of Sound" was also the billionth song downloaded from the iTunes Store.
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In an interview, Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin revealed that the song was written in mid-2004 and was inspired by Martin's daughter, Apple, and English alternative rock singer Kate Bush: "That's a song where we were listening to a lot of Kate Bush last summer, and we wanted a song which had a lot of tom-toms in it. I just had my daughter up also, and was kind of feeling in a sense of awe and wonderment, so the song is kind of a Kate Bush song about miracles."[1] The drumbeat of the song was inspired by Bush's 1985 song "Running Up that Hill".[2] In a 2011 interview with Howard Stern vocalist Chris Martin admitted that 'Speed of Sound' was one of his least favorite songs. He said that they never play it live and that mainly just didn't like the recording of the song and that he doesn't like playing it because of his dislike for the recording. Martin has said in multiple interviews, "We just didn't get it right."
In a separate interview, bassist Guy Berryman, in discussion of "Speed of Sound", said: "We were listening to a Kate Bush song called 'Running Up that Hill' and we were really trying to recreate the drums on that song for this song, and the chords. Some bands are reluctant to admit that they take things from other artists and bands that they listen to and we're shameless in that respect, we don't mind telling."[3]
"Speed of Sound" is a piano-based song. The song benefits from an insistently ornate keyboard riff and a busy but less-hummable chorus,[4][5] in which the song builds into a huge drum beat and a synthesizer-heavy chorus, which also includes an upbeat tempo.
The lyrics in the song are cryptic; the ending lines of the third verse emphasize in belief and faith: "If you could see it then you'd understand/ah, when you see it then you'll understand," and "Some things you have to believe/others are puzzles puzzling me."[6] The fourth line in the second verse alludes to discovering your place in the world: "How long am I gonna stand/with my head stuck under the sand."[6][7]
In his review of X&Y, Bill White of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper noted that the "slowing ... creative juices" evident in "Speed of Sound" compare to "melodies from both Jeff Buckley ('Last Goodbye') and Keane ('Everybody's Changing')".[8]
Coldplay released "Speed of Sound" in the US on 18 April 2005 as the lead single of their third album. The song made its radio premiere on BBC Radio 1 with Lamacq on the day of the release on 19 April.[9] The single was pressed with two B-sides: "Things I Don't Understand" and "Proof". The song premiered in the UK on 23 May.[10]
"Speed of Sound" was beaten to the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart by the novelty song "Axel F" by the Crazy Frog,[11][12] instead peaking at number two for a week, although it did stay in the Top 75 for sixteen non-consecutive weeks.[13] However, it became Coldplay's first UK download number one,[11] and also became Coldplay's first and (at that point) biggest single to chart in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eight,[14][15] making it the band's most successful single until "Viva la Vida" reached number one in 2008.[16] The single marked the first time a British band entered directly in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart since "Say You'll Be There" by the Spice Girls.[13] The song was also the billionth song downloaded from Apple, Inc.'s iTunes Store.[17][18] A ring tone was available from Cingular Wireless, which had a song clip from "Speed of Sound" available a week before it was heard on radio.[19]
"Speed of Sound" had mixed reviews among critics. Pitchfork Media rated it 2.5/5, noting its melodic similarity to the band's earlier song "Clocks".[20] In the Rolling Stone review of the album, critic Kelefa Sanneh also noted the similarity between "Speed of Sound" and "Clocks", in which he wrote: "'Speed of Sound', an appealing but not thrilling song (it sounds a bit like Rush of Blood's 'Clocks' but without the swagger)."[21] Matt Freelove of Blogcritics magazine, however, wrote: "It certainly is a song that would have fit in well on the second album, in terms of the music ... However, the single is still quite good, and it sounds beautiful, but I was expecting some impressive about-face by the band that sent the music in a different direction."[22] Joe Tangari of Pitchfork wrote: "The track's vocal melody outperforms the one from 'Clocks' by a hair."[5] Nick Southall of Stylus magazine wrote: "First single 'Speed Of Sound' point[s] towards a luscious, technologically aware, synth-driven aesthetic, any development is purely superficial [...] 'Speed Of Sound' further cement[s] the futurist aesthetic; shiny, clean, gargantuan attention to detail, avoidance of real pain and passion in favour of anaesthetised but delicious and hollow melancholy and awe."[23]
"Speed of Sound" was nominated for two Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals at the 2006 Grammy Awards.[24][25] The song won an MTV Europe Music Award in the category for Best Song.[26] In December 2005, "Speed of Sound" appeared at number nine on Q magazine's "100 Greatest Tracks of the Year".[27] In 2006, the song won a Brit Award for Best British Single.[28] That same year, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) named the track Song of the Year.[29][30]
The song appears on comedian "Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medley "Polkarama!" in his October 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood.[31] It can also be heard in the video game SingStar Rocks!.[32] The song was parodied on an episode of Fox's sketch comedy television series Mad TV.[33]
The video promo for "Speed of Sound" was shot on a Los Angeles sound stage on 22 and 23 April 2005.[34] Shooting took place on large sets backed by large Light-emitting diode (LED) displays developed by Element Labs.[35] The performance-based video was directed by Mark Romanek.[36][37] The video features the band performing in front of a curved ellipse wall that consists of 640 Element Labs' VersaTubes placed on 6" centres.[38]
The on-set animations were programmed and performed live during the shoot.[39][40] Romanek wanted the song's stem "split out" and to have the drums, bass, guitar, and vocals on separate tracks, which were then animated, and the lights were synthesized to each of the tracks. In the end, Romanek and Michael Keeling, the lighting designer, opted to use Chris Martin's vocal track to animate "because it had such dynamics. Roughly 75% of the video is driven by voice-activated animation", said Keeling.[38]
The video opens in pitch-black, followed by a light framing Martin as he reaches skyward out of the shadows. The scene then shifts to the band, as they play the song. When Martin spread his hands, the two-story-high LED lights erupt in a colour of rainbow hues. The LED background changes its colours as the band proceeds with performing the song. The video concludes its ending with the band lined up, one-by-one, and the LED set displaying a white light background.
The video debuted on 23 May 2005 and proved successful on video-chart programs.[41] It debuted on 11 June 2005 on Fuse's No. 1 Countdown Rock, at number six,[42] and retired on 5 August at number seven of the countdown.[42] It also reached number sixteen in MuchMusic's Countdown a month after its debut.[43] At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for four nominations in the categories of Video of the Year, Best Special Effects, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.[35][44] The video was the ranked at number 10 on VH1's Top 40 of 2005.[45]
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[46] | 9 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[47] | 23 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[48] | 34 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[49] | 31 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[50] | 7 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[51] | 3 |
| France (SNEP)[52] | 42 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[53] | 11 |
| Italy (FIMI)[54] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[55] | 6 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[56] | 13 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[57] | 11 |
| Polish Singles Chart[58] | 1 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[59] | 2 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[60] | 34 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[61] | 22 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[62] | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 |
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| US Billboard Alternative Songs |
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| US Billboard Pop 100 |
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